Soeharto's questioning scheduled to resume

Soeharto's questioning scheduled to resume

JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office announced on
Wednesday it would not await approval from a joint medical team
before resuming the questioning of former president Soeharto on
Friday.

Director of Corruption Affairs Chaerul Imam said there was no
need for state prosecutors to wait for approval from the joint
medical team to question Soeharto about alleged corruption during
his 32-year rule.

"The questioning is likely to resume on Friday, and we don't
have any obligation to send a summons to the suspect and await
the doctors' approval. We can just phone his (Soeharto's) lawyers
at anytime," Chaerul said.

As on Monday, Soeharto will be questioned at his residence on
Jl. Cendana in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

The joint medical team of state-appointed doctors from Cipto
Mangunkusumo General Hospital and Soeharto's personal physicians
cut short the examination of the 78-year-old former ruler on
Monday after 90 minutes. The team ended the examination due to
Soeharto's rising blood pressure and irregular heartbeat.

Chairul insisted Soeharto was fit to resume being questioned
and that eight prosecutors would examine the former Army general,
posing questions Soeharto would have no difficulty understanding.

The prosecutors are Antasari Azhar, Ferry Silalahi,
Suryansyah, Patuan Siahaan, M. Yamin, Ibnu Haryadi, Purwanto and
Tarwo Hadi Sadjuri, all from the special crimes directorate of
the Attorney General's Office.

Chairul said Soeharto's health worsened on Monday following a
question on irregularities in the implementation of the peat land
conversion project he initiated in 1996.

The project cost the government Rp 2 trillion and the
administration of Soeharto's successor, B.J. Habibie, halted it
in 1998.

A leading non-governmental organization, the Indonesian Forum
for the Environment, filed a lawsuit against Habibie's
administration last year for allegedly marking up the value of
the megaproject and for the environmental damage and social costs
which resulted from the project.

The other questions on Monday concerned Soeharto's role in the
national car project, which was awarded to his youngest son
Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, and the reported misuse of
reforestation funds.

Chairul said after completing the questioning of Soeharto, the
Attorney General's Office would begin questioning witnesses,
including Soeharto's children and former minister of finance Fuad
Bawazier.

Meanwhile, pressure continues to mount for the government to
bring Soeharto immediately to justice. Some 200 activists from
the Students Front for Reform and Democracy rallied near the
former president's home on Wednesday. It was the third
demonstration within a week demanding Soeharto be tried.

Carrying banners denouncing the former ruler, the students
protested the sluggish pace of the government's investigation
into Soeharto's alleged corruption.

Riot police set up a cordon to prevent the students from
reaching Soeharto's home. The protest was peaceful, although the
students and police launched several verbal assaults on one
another.

A number of students were injured during a clash with security
personnel in a demonstration near Soeharto's residence on
Saturday.

There was not repeat of the violence on Wednesday and the
students peacefully dispersed after dusk. (01)